Recent studies have reported that obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms are highly prevalent in schizophrenia, and schizophrenic patients with OC symptoms have a poorer clinical course compared to those without OC symptoms. In spite of many previous case reports, treatment of OC symptoms in schizophrenia has not been systematically studied. We report a patient with chronic schizophrenia who had obsessive symptoms such as bizarre, stereotyped behaviors. Treatment with olanzapine and risperidone, resulted in partial response for his psychotic symptoms, respectively. The obsessive symptoms, however, persisted and fluoxetine was added to the risperidone regimen. After 4 weeks of combination treatment, fluoxetine was titrated up to 80 mg/day and his obsessive symptoms became less in frequency and intensity. After 7 weeks on combination treatment of risperidone and fluoxetine, obsessive symptoms resulted in a significant reduction. On the 20 months of following, he remained in a recovered state and had been treated with risperidone 4 mg/day, and fluoxetine 20 mg/day.
Fluoxetine ; Humans ; Risperidone ; Schizophrenia ; Stereotyped Behavior

Multiple areas of development are affected in pervasive developmental disorders(PDD), and assessments of various aspects of behavior and development are essential for diagnosis. The object of this review is to provide the practical guidelines for the assessment of core features of PDD, including abnormalities in communication, social interaction, and repetitive and stereotyped behavior. It covers the issues of differential diagnosis within and outside the PDD category, standardized diagnostic tools, assessment of intellectual and language functions, and the early diagnosis of PDD in infancy. This guideline also stresses the process of medical and neurological evaluation for proper diagnosis of PDD.
Diagnosis* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Early Diagnosis ; Interpersonal Relations ; Stereotyped Behavior

Levodopa treatment in Parkinson's disease (PD) can cause a wide range of non-motor manifestations including poor impulse control and stereotyped behaviors. Punding is a term used to describe complex prolonged, purposeless and repetitive behavior in patients under dopamine replacement therapy. We report a 64-year-old PD patient who, concomitantly with self-increment of levodopa, developed punding behaviors in association with dopamine dysregulation syndrome. Gradual reduction of dopaminergic medication partially alleviated repetitive behavior over time.
Dopamine ; Humans ; Levodopa ; Middle Aged ; Parkinson Disease ; Stereotyped Behavior

To understand developmental abnormalities including pervasive developmental disorders, it is essential to understand normal developmental process of children, especially from infancy to preschool years. Infancy refers to the time before the beginning of extensive verbal communication that occurs at about 18 months. Toddlerhood, from 18 months to 3 years, encompasses the most rapid and contextually transactional period of developmental change throughout the postpartum life. Preschool years are characterized by extensive development of language, cognition, and social ability including the blooming of theory of mind. Multiple areas of development are affected in pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), and assessments of various aspects of behavior and development are essential for diagnosis. This review provides the areas of assessment of core features of PDD, including abnormalities in communication, social interaction, and repetitive and stereotyped behavior in the context of deviation from the normal behavioral development from infancy to preschool years.
Child ; Cognition ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Postpartum Period ; Stereotyped Behavior ; Theory of Mind

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairment in two behavioral domains: social interaction/communication together with the presence of stereotyped behaviors and restricted interests. The heterogeneity in the phenotype among patients and the complex etiology of the disorder have long impeded the advancement of the development of successful pharmacotherapies. However, in the recent years, the integration of findings of multiple levels of research, from human genetics to mouse models, have made considerable progress towards the understanding of ASD pathophysiology, allowing the development of more effective targeted drug therapies. The present review discusses the current state of pharmacological research in ASD based on the emerging common pathophysiology signature.
Animals ; Autistic Disorder* ; Child ; Autism Spectrum Disorder* ; Drug Therapy ; Genetics, Medical ; Humans ; Mice ; Phenotype ; Population Characteristics ; Social Behavior ; Stereotyped Behavior

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Behavior Problems Inventory (BPI-01) among children and adolescents aged between 3 and 18. METHODS: The control group consisting of one hundred children and adolescents was recruited from schools and the patient group consisting of forty one children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder were recruited from a hospital. We compared the measurements of both groups. To assess the concurrent validity of the BPI-01, we compared the problem behavior index of the Korean Scale of Independent Behavior-Revised (K-SIB-R) and, to assess the discriminant validity, we compared the Korean version of the Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL). The Cronbach's alpha of the BPI-01 was measured to assess its reliability. Correlation analyses between the BPI-01 and the other scale were carried out to examine the former's concurrent and discriminant validity. RESULTS: The patient group showed a significantly higher score for all three subscales of the BPI than the control group. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.92 for the total severity score of the BPI and ranged between 0.67–0.89 for each subscale in the patient group. All subscales of the BPI-01's, i.e., self injurious behavior, stereotyped behavior and aggressive/destructive behavior, were significantly correlated with the corresponding subscales of the K-SIB-R. The BPI-01 generally did not demonstrate any significant correlation with emotional items such as anxiety/depression in the K-CBCL. Especially, the BPI-01's stereotyped behavior subscale showed little correlation with externalizing behaviors such as social problems and aggressive behaviors. CONCLUSION: This study found that the Korean version of BPI-01 is a reliable and valid behavior rating instrument for problem behavior in developmental disabilities among children and adolescents.
Adolescent* ; Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Checklist ; Child Behavior ; Child* ; Developmental Disabilities ; Humans ; Problem Behavior ; Reproducibility of Results ; Self-Injurious Behavior ; Social Problems ; Stereotyped Behavior

OBJECTIVES: Repetitive and stereotyped behaviors are core symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The purpose of our study was to investigate the frequency of motor stereotypes in ASD children and their clinical features. METHODS: Among 171 ASD children (age range, 3-15), the ASD group with motor stereotypes was defined according to two items in the Korean version of Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (K-ADI-R). We compared the clinical features, behavior problems and severity of other domains in the K-ADI-R and executive functions between the ASD group with motor stereotypes and the ASD group without motor stereotypes. RESULTS: Ninety (52.6%) of 171 ASD children had motor stereotypes. The ASD group with motor stereotypes had a lower intelligence quotient score (62.23 vs. 84.94, p<.001) compared to the ASD group without motor stereotypes. The ASD group with motor stereotypes had more impairments in the social interaction domain [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.11, p=.001] and communication domain (AOR 1.15, p=.008). Thought problems and lethargy were more frequent in the ASD group with motor stereotypes than the ASD group without motor stereotypes (AOR 2.059, p=.034 ; adjusted OR 1.045, p=.046). However, no significant differences in executive function were observed between the ASD group with motor stereotypes and the ASD group without motor stereotypes. CONCLUSION: The ASD group with motor stereotypes showed more impairment in social interaction and communication domains, which are core symptoms of autism. Motor stereotypes may indicate greater severity of ASD.
Autistic Disorder ; Autism Spectrum Disorder* ; Child* ; Executive Function ; Humans ; Intelligence ; Interpersonal Relations ; Lethargy ; Odds Ratio ; Stereotyped Behavior

OBJECTIVES: This study was to investigate in vivo activities of Polygalae Radix, a natural plant including active components having affinities to central nervous system receptors, using an animal model for psychotic disorders in terms of behavioral psychopharmacology. METHODS: The extracts of Polygalae Radix in two concentrations of 5.0mg/g and 0..5mg/g were administered to mice in order to explore the suppression of apomorphine-induced stereotyped behaviors visually and to compare with the effects of haloperidol and control. 10 mice were tested in each groups. RESULTS: The capacities of suppressing the apomorphine-induced stereotyped behaviors were observed in decreasing order of haloperidol, Polygalae Radix 5.0mg/g, Polygalae Radix 0..5mg/g and control. The extracts of Polygalae Radix in both concentrations suppressed apomorphine- induced stereotyped behaviors significantly, and Polygalae Radix 5.0mg/g was as potent as haloperidol. CONCLUSION: This suggests that Polygalae Radix contain some effective ingredients to influence the central dopamine pathway in vivo. The identification of the chemical structures and the exploration of the biochemical and pharmacological characteristics of active components are to be required through further studies.
Animals ; Apomorphine ; Central Nervous System ; Dopamine ; Haloperidol ; Mice* ; Models, Animal ; Plants ; Polygala* ; Psychopharmacology ; Psychotic Disorders ; Stereotyped Behavior*

OBJECTIVE: This study was to investigate in vivo antidopaminergic activities of polygalasaponins which included in the roots of Polygalae tenuifolia, one of the natural plants prescribed to treat psychotic disorders in traditional medicine. METHODS: The chemical separations were conducted by chromatographies with various columns and the chemical structures were identified using spectroscopy, NMR and so on. The apomorphine-induced stereotyped behaviors and climbing behaviors in mice as animal models of psychotic disorders were applied to explore the antidopaminergic activity. RESULTS: The active compounds with antidopaminergic effects in the roots of Polygalae tenuifolia were identified as polygalasaponin A-D. The polygalasaponins showed to suppress the apomorphine-induced stereotyped behaviors and climbing behaviors in dose-related fashions. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that polygalasaponins might have antipsychotic activities. The natural products need to be explored extensively as sources of new medications in psychiatric fields. Further explorations for chemical and pharmacological properties of polygalasaponins are required.
Animals ; Apomorphine ; Biological Products ; Chromatography ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Medicine, Traditional ; Mice* ; Models, Animal ; Polygala* ; Psychotic Disorders ; Stereotyped Behavior

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor on MK-801-elicited behaviors in rats in an attempt to elucidate the participation of NO in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and to identify the possibility of NOS inhibitor's antipsychotic property. METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 250-300g, were given MK-801 in order to know behavioral changes induced by MK-801. Next time, animals were pretreated with Nomega-nitro-L-arginine (L-NA) as a NOS inhibitor and haloperidol before administration of MK-801, respectively. Separate behavioral rating scales were introduced for quantifying MK-801-induced locomotor activity, stereotyped behaviors and ataxia in order that these behaviors might be assessed independently. Animals were observed for 30 seconds and scored once every 10 min. during a period of 1 hour. RESULTS: 1) Locomotor activity and stereotyped behavior were significantly increased by MK-801 in rats. 2) Locomotor activity and stereotyped behavior were significantly diminished by pretreatment with haloperidol. 3) Locomotor activity and stereotyped behavior were also significantly diminished by pretreatment with L-NA. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that NO may, in part, mediate behavioral changes induced by MK-801, and that inhibitors of NOS may have antipsychotic action.
Animals ; Ataxia ; Dizocilpine Maleate ; Haloperidol ; Humans ; Male ; Motor Activity ; Nitric Oxide Synthase* ; Nitric Oxide* ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Schizophrenia ; Stereotyped Behavior ; Weights and Measures